Speaking of 韭菜, some restaurants refer to them as Chinese chives, others refer to them as Chinese leeks. As Yueyin mentioned, Chinese chives are similar to but different than the chives used as an herb in Western cooking.

BTW, I've always wondered if leeks were even available in China. When I was in China, I had never seen them sold anywhere.

Leeks are a member of the onion family. Despite sometimes being called "a poor man's asparagus," the thick stalked European leeks commonly found in supermarkets have a mild sweet flavor. Chinese leeks, on the other hand, are smaller and thinner, resembling a thick scallion. Their more pungent flavor makes Chinese leeks are a staple ingredient in northern Chinese cooking.

Allium tuberosum (commonly known as garlic chives, Chinese chives, Oriental garlic, Chinese leek, also known by the Chinese name kow choi (also transliterated as gau choy; Chinese: 韭菜; pinyin: Jiǔcài; Wade–Giles: Chiu3-ts'ai4; Jyutping: gau2 coi3), or the Japanese name nira, is a vegetable related to onion.

The Chinese name for the species is variously adapted and transliterated as cuchay, jiucai, kucai, kuchay, or kutsay in Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

In the northeatern states of India, Manipur, it is grown and used as a substitute to garlic and onion in cooking and goes by the name "maroi nakupi" . It is also sometimes called "green nira grass" where "nira" is Romanization of the Japanese word "韮" which means garlic chives.

Thanks for the wiki link. Previously while reading it, I found the following section of text particularly interesting. Like I said, I've been wondering for the longest time: are leeks even available in China?

Historical consumption

Bible commentators attribute the חציר specimen - acclaimed by the Israelites to be of abundance in Egypt - as the leek.(Glantz, Animal and plant life in the Torah, חי וצומח בתורה .p. 204) Dried specimens from archaeological sites in ancient Egypt, as well as wall carvings and drawings, led Zohary and Hopf to conclude the leek was a part of the Egyptian diet from at least the second millennium BCE onwards. They also allude to surviving texts that show it had been also grown in Mesopotamia from the beginning of the second millennium BCE.[8] The leek was the favorite vegetable of the Emperor Nero, who consumed it in soup or in oil, believing it beneficial to the quality of his voice.[9]

Cultural significance

The leek is one of the national emblems of Wales, worn along with the daffodil (in Welsh, the daffodil is known as "Peter's leek," Cenhinen Bedr) on St. David’s Day. According to one legend, King Cadwaladr of Gwynedd ordered his soldiers to identify themselves by wearing the vegetable on their helmets in an ancient battle against the Saxons that took place in a leek field.[10] The Elizabethan poet Michael Drayton stated , in contrast, that the tradition was a tribute to Saint David, who ate only leeks when he was fasting.[11] Whatever the case, the leek has been known to be a symbol of Wales for a long time; Shakespeare, for example, refers to the custom of wearing a leek as an “ancient tradition” in Henry V. In the play, Henry tells the Welsh officer Fluellen that he too is wearing a leek “for I am Welsh, you know, good countryman.” The 1985 and 1990 British one pound coins bear the design of a leek in a coronet, representing Wales.

大葱 might be related to European leeks horticulturally; but IMO, appearance-wise and taste-wise they are very different. The Chinese food expert in the link QHE provided mentioned that Chinese leeks are a staple ingredient in northern Chinese cooking, but the image in the link seemed to be that of a European leek (Or is it that of a stalk of 大葱?) That's what made me even more confused.

My main hangup is probably this: leeks seem to belong to the subspecies of 韭(leek), while 大葱 seem to belong to that of 葱(scallion) - BTW, this might all sound like mumbo jumbo, since I know next to nothing about biology.

Anyway, whether leek or scallion ... it's not important. Leeks are delicious, and definitely a lot milder than 大葱. Taste-wise, I feel they taste closer to 韭菜 than to 葱. IMO it's worth a try for those who could get their hands on them.

[Edited at 2014-09-14 14:44 GMT]

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Thanks for the wiki link. Previously while reading it, I was particularly interested in the following passages. Like I said, I've been wondering for the longest time: are leeks even available in China?

Historical consumption

Bible commentators attribute the חציר specimen - acclaimed by the Israelites to be of abundance in Egypt - as the leek.(Glantz, Animal and plant life in the Torah, חי וצומח בתורה .p. 204) Dried specimens from archaeological sites in ancient Egypt, as well as wall carvings and drawings, led Zohary and Hopf to conclude the leek was a part of the Egyptian diet from at least the second millennium BCE onwards. They also allude to surviving texts that show it had been also grown in Mesopotamia from the beginning of the second millennium BCE.[8] The leek was the favorite vegetable of the Emperor Nero, who consumed it in soup or in oil, believing it beneficial to the quality of his voice.[9]

Cultural significance

The leek is one of the national emblems of Wales, worn along with the daffodil (in Welsh, the daffodil is known as "Peter's leek," Cenhinen Bedr) on St. David’s Day. According to one legend, King Cadwaladr of Gwynedd ordered his soldiers to identify themselves by wearing the vegetable on their helmets in an ancient battle against the Saxons that took place in a leek field.[10] The Elizabethan poet Michael Drayton stated , in contrast, that the tradition was a tribute to Saint David, who ate only leeks when he was fasting.[11] Whatever the case, the leek has been known to be a symbol of Wales for a long time; Shakespeare, for example, refers to the custom of wearing a leek as an “ancient tradition” in Henry V. In the play, Henry tells the Welsh officer Fluellen that he too is wearing a leek “for I am Welsh, you know, good countryman.” The 1985 and 1990 British one pound coins bear the design of a leek in a coronet, representing Wales.

Very interesting indeed about the biblical history and the Welsh connection, particularly its relationship to St. David's Day.

In the Old Testament Numbers 11:5, the Israelites could recall:

"We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick."

“我们记得在埃及的时候，不花钱就可以吃鱼，还有黄瓜、西瓜、韭菜、葱、蒜。”（和合本修订版）

It's proved its at least more than 2,000 years of history in the Middle East then.

大葱 might be related to European leeks horticulturally; but IMO, appearance-wise and taste-wise they are very different. The Chinese food expert in the link QHE provided mentioned that Chinese leeks are a staple ingredient in northern Chinese cooking, but the image in the link seemed to be that of a European leek (Or is it that of a stalk of 大葱?) That's what made me even more confused.

My main hangup is probably this: leeks seem to belong to the subspecies of 韭(leek), while 大葱 seem to belong to that of 葱(scallion) - BTW, this might all sound like mumbo jumbo, since I know next to nothing about biology.

Anyway, whether leek or scallion ... it's not important. Leeks are delicious, and definitely a lot milder than 大葱. Taste-wise, I feel they taste closer to 韭菜 than to 葱. IMO it's worth a try for those who could get their hands on them.

FLUELLEN
Your majesty says very true: if your majesties is
remembered of it, the Welshmen did good service in a
garden where leeks did grow, wearing leeks in their
Monmouth caps; which, your majesty know, to this
hour is an honorable badge of the service; and I do
believe your majesty takes no scorn to wear the leek
upon Saint Tavy's day (Saint David's Day).

[Edited at 2014-09-14 20:52 GMT]

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Hong Kong (CNN) -- Tired of bumping into people glued to their phones? One Chinese city thinks it has the answer: It has divided a sidewalk on one of its busiest streets into two lanes -- one for cellphone users and the other for those without.
The sidewalk is in the city of Chongqing in southwestern China. Fifty meters long and three meters wide, it has warning signs painted in white on the ground.
Long Cheng, a spokesperson for the developer that came up with the idea, said that the sidewalk lanes reminded tourists not to walk while playing with their cellphones.
"It's an unsafe gesture with potential safety hazards," she said.
The road, known as "yangrenjie" or foreigners street, is a popular tourist attraction in the city because of its faux Western architecture and an amusement park.
Long said the developers were inspired by a recent experiment in Washington DC and there were no plans yet to roll out the concept elsewhere in the city.

First we have to deal with bike lanes, now it's the idea of cellphone lanes. Where does the idiocy stop?

BTW, I know I'm not being politically correct. But compared to "yangrenjie", I think I'm still okay.

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